Chapter 42

She called out several times in a row, and soon faint sounds of stepping on fallen leaves came from the dense forest. The two had heard her and were searching for the source of the noise.

Mu Qian Tan stopped calling and quietly waited for them to arrive.

Before long, the layers of bushes were pushed aside. Shang Shan spotted the person hanging in midair in the net trap first and was about to speak when she clearly saw who it was. She paused slightly.

Qin He followed right behind and saw the scene as well but did not act immediately. The long sword at her waist unsheathed itself, and a silver gleam flew over Mu Qian Tan’s head.

The net rope was severed, and along with some dry branches and leaves, it came crashing down with a clatter. As the sensation of weightlessness hit, Mu Qian Tan flipped in midair, her black robe billowing as she landed steadily.

Shang Shan scratched her chin with her fingertip and looked at her, seemingly a bit puzzled, but said nothing.

Mu Qian Tan did not notice her gaze and cupped her hands toward Qin He in salute. “Many thanks to you two fellow immortals for your assistance.”

The silver sword light returned to its sheath with a clear chime, and all around fell silent. Qin He said, “No trouble at all. It was just a small effort.”

Her gaze shifted downward as she searched the grass pile. Noticing a glint, she bent down, parted the grass, picked up the spirit sword, and handed it over. “Your sword.”

“Thank you.” Mu Qian Tan thanked her verbally and reached out to take the sword. Just as she grasped the blade, the person in front of her spoke. “This sister doesn’t use swords often, does she?”

Mu Qian Tan gripped the sword tightly and lifted her eyes to meet hers. “What makes you say that, little sister?”

Qin He replied, “Those skilled with swords basically treat them as important as their own lives and would never let them leave their hands easily.”

Thinking she referred to losing the sword after getting caught in the tree, Mu Qian Tan said, “I’ve never seen this kind of trap before. I stepped into it carelessly, got overly startled, and dropped the sword by accident. It wasn’t intentional.”

“That’s true enough, but that’s not what I meant,” Qin He said. Her bright black eyes gazed at her, clear and pure, as if they could reflect something out. “The first thing you did after getting out of the trap wasn’t to look for your sword. To us sword cultivators, that’s pretty unbelievable.”

So it was because she hadn’t immediately gone looking for the sword after escaping the trap that it aroused her suspicion.

Mu Qian Tan’s heart stirred slightly at how such a small detail had been noticed. She feigned a dejected expression. “You’re right. I don’t use swords often because this body of mine has very low spiritual power. Even if I hold a sword, I can’t use it well. If it weren’t a sect requirement to carry one, I probably wouldn’t have brought it in.”

It was impossible to tell if Qin He believed her or not, but she let go of the sword. “I see.”

Mu Qian Tan pressed the nameplate hidden in her sleeve and sighed inwardly. It was good that she had prepared in advance. Otherwise, trying to get close to her purely with lies might have exposed her with one slip.

With that thought, she continued, “May I ask if I can travel with you two sisters?”

Qin He was slightly taken aback. “Travel together?”

Only after asking did she realize this was a request to team up with them.

She glanced at the net trap spread out on the ground. Though it was made of special materials designed for immortals, even the weakest spiritual power should have been enough to struggle free from such a trap.

It was easy to infer the strength range of the woman before her. Faced with the team-up request, Qin He fell silent.

Thinking she was disdainful of her weak strength, Mu Qian Tan began playing the emotional card. “I won’t hold you back or covet any merits. If you catch powerful demons, the credit is all yours. I’ll just grab some minor demons to turn in and call it done. Otherwise, my sect…”

There was a saying that putting on a mask was no different from taking one off. Mu Qian Tan, who had never shown weakness in her life, now lowered her head without batting an eye and said timidly, “Otherwise, my sect might kick me out. I don’t want to leave. Please, I’m begging you.”

Shang Shan’s facial muscles twitched.

High-pitched bird calls echoed uninterrupted through the forest. Qin He stroked the hilt of her sword with her palm, seemingly very troubled. After a long while, she said, “But immortal, if you have no ability to protect yourself, following us will make it easy for you to get hurt.”

The demon they and Shang Shan wanted to catch was not easy to deal with, and the path to finding it was full of dangers. Both of them had some ability and could look out for each other at any time, but adding one more person meant that if some unexpected danger arose, they might not have the focus to protect her.

It turned out her hesitation was not disdain for her weak spiritual power or low sect status, but worry that they couldn’t keep her safe. Mu Qian Tan said, “It’s fine with me. Falling into the trap was just because I had just entered and wasn’t mentally prepared. I’m actually not that weak.”

Qin He was still conflicted and asked, “What’s your name?”

Mu Qian Tan took out her nameplate. “This.”

Qin He took the nameplate and examined every detail closely, subtly confirming it was genuine. Then she lifted her eyes toward the depths of the dense forest, her gaze seeming to pierce through it back to the Outer Mountains entrance.

Seeing her like this, it was easy to guess she was considering escorting Mu Qian Tan back to the edge of the Outer Mountains. If the entrance wasn’t far, she would have suggested it already. But half a day had passed, and a round trip would inevitably delay them a lot, so she hesitated.

“Let me see.” The ever-silent Shang Shan suddenly spoke up, took the nameplate from her hand, glanced at the name, and then said, “Let her stay.”

Seeing her confident expression, Qin He asked doubtfully, “Do you know her?”

“I’ve never seen this face before. Anyway, just keep her around.” Shang Shan tossed the nameplate back to the woman. “Didn’t she say it? She’s about to get kicked out of her sect. Pretty pitiful.”

Qin He, who was already familiar with her personality, knew that if they didn’t help, she would keep dwelling on it. So she no longer insisted and changed her tune. “Alright, but you must stick close to us at all times and not act on your own. We’ll do our best to protect you.”

Shang Shan fiddled with her wide sleeves without looking over. Mu Qian Tan felt a bit puzzled but still said, “Thank you. I understand.”

She had successfully joined the team without incident, but lunch still needed to be eaten.

The three returned to their previous resting spot and sat on a fallen log. Shang Shan uncorked her gourd and gulped down water. Qin He took off the bundle on her back, opened it, broke off two pieces of beef jerky, a sausage, and a corn pancake, and divided them equally between the other two.

“I’ll explain our plan and route to you first,” Qin He said, taking a bite of the food with one hand, swallowing after chewing, and continuing. “This way, you won’t be too lost following us.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Sorry to trouble you.”

Qin He put the food away and pulled out a scroll, spreading it over her gathered knees. It was a simply drawn map: a circle of black mountains surrounding a vast ancient primeval forest, with overlapping greens marked by a bridge-like line connecting one point to another, forming a route.

“The place we’re heading to next is called Candy Banyan Forest…”

Mu Qian Tan, already fully aware of this plot point, had no interest in listening. She just reviewed it once more in her mind.

The demon they were going after was called the Spotted Cicada King. Its entire body, including its excrement, could be used as medicine and was extremely valuable. Because it loved sweet foods, it lived in Candy Banyan Forest, where the trunks and leaves all secreted sugar.

The two would spend about two days finding that forest in a certain area of the Outer Mountains, then try various ways to capture the Spotted Cicada King, leading to the subsequent “mantis stalking the cicada” developments.

Nothing interesting. She would just watch.

The girl’s voice gradually faded into the distance. Mu Qian Tan appeared focused, but her thoughts were on the food in her hand.

She nibbled at the beef jerky bit by bit. The meat wasn’t too tough; each bite caused bits to fall off, melting on her tongue into a salty-sweet richness. The taste was quite good.

Flipping through the original work in her mind, she recalled that behind Qin He’s exceptional talent was a skill that was practically zero: cooking.

Her hands could control a pill furnace, yet she couldn’t manage the fire when cooking or season without it tasting like poison. Every dish came out either charred to coal or a mushy soup.

Mu Qian Tan could at least cook a decent meal for people, so something even worse than her skills couldn’t have produced this beef jerky and corn pancake. This rations must have been prepared by her master, Jiang Zhouyao.

She had felt it last time she mooched a meal—her culinary skills were truly excellent, unforgettable.

Mu Qian Tan swallowed the corn pancake and poured out the beef jerky to observe its texture.

She used to be quite picky about food, but later had no conditions to be picky. Her stomach was ruined from hunger, aching unbearably until she conditioned it. Now she could eat anything. But people’s nature still loved good food, and when encountering something to her taste, she couldn’t help thinking how nice it would be if she could eat it in the future too.

Once she had the idea, she considered its feasibility. Going to Cliff Mountain every day to mooch meals wasn’t viable; Qin He probably wouldn’t be able to eat upon seeing her. Should she go steal some recipes from Jiang Zhouyao? But she had no cooking talent either; the results probably wouldn’t taste as good.

In the end, the best method was: have Shang Shan learn.

She would be going to Cliff Mountain often anyway. With her status as the female protagonist, she would definitely learn well. Then threaten her to cook upon return—this would make her a servant. Sounded pretty good…

Lost in wild thoughts, her eyelids twitched lightly as she sensed a burning gaze on her. Mu Qian Tan looked back along it and found the stare came from Shang Shan.

Qin He was still explaining with her head down and hadn’t noticed whom she was looking at. Shang Shan made no effort to hide it either, lightly patting her hands to shake off food crumbs without speaking. Her black-and-white eyes fixed unwaveringly, as if she had been watching for a while.

Did she stare at everyone like this?

“…” Even with a new face, she couldn’t escape being stared at by this Brain-Damaged Dragon. Mu Qian Tan suppressed the urge to punch her and rolled her eyes subtly before continuing to eat the beef jerky.

Over there, Qin He had finished explaining, rolled up the scroll, and put it away. Seeing Shang Shan’s portion was empty, she tried to share some of hers, but Shang Shan pushed it back. “I still have some in my bag. Eat yours.”

Qin He said, “Is it enough for you?”

Shang Shan replied, “Do I look like I need much? If not, I can eat dirt and be full. Eat properly. Don’t mind me.”

“Haha, alright.” Maintaining the motion of offering food, Qin He turned to the other side. “Is yours enough?”

Mu Qian Tan held her corn pancake and hadn’t answered yet when Shang Shan interjected, “She can’t eat much.”

Qin He asked, “How do you know?”

Shang Shan reached over, forming a circle with her thumb and forefinger, comparing it to Mu Qian Tan’s wrists on both sides, and snorted. “She’s so skinny. People who eat properly don’t get this skinny.”

“…” Mu Qian Tan held back her temper and smiled politely. “It’s enough. Thank you.”

The three finished their meal and set off toward Candy Banyan Forest. The terrain was extremely uneven, rising and falling irregularly, overgrown with dense bushes that obscured foot placement. They had to watch carefully to avoid tripping, so their speed wasn’t fast.

After walking for a long time, a thin layer of sweat formed on their bodies. Shang Shan rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a handful of blue berries from a nearby bush, sniffed them to confirm they were edible, and fed them to the red satin that emerged from her hair.

The little red snake, not even as thick as her pinky finger, perched on the girl’s earlobe, reared up, bit into the berry, and shook the three-petaled plum blossom pattern on the back of its head.

After eating the berry, the red satin burrowed back into her hair on its own. Its bright red body wove through the black strands, twisting her long hair up into a high bun. Qin He chuckled lightly. “Only you would use a snake for your hair.”

Shang Shan was stunned for a moment, then recalled something. “I grabbed it from a tree on a previous outing, thinking it was a rope. Turns out it was the snake demon my master was looking for. She said to keep it with me for now, so I’ve been using it.”

That snake looked like an ordinary red snake, and Tianyu Sect had them crawling everywhere. Why go out to find one? Qin He was puzzled. “Why?”

Slapping the bushes passing by her side with her arm, Shang Shan said in a muffled voice, “How should I know why? She never tells me these things. Never says anything.”

Qin He fell silent for a moment and made a soft sound of acknowledgment.

After seeing so much of the forest scenery, it all looked the same. She paid attention to not veering off the route and walked quietly alongside for a bit before finally unable to hold back. She whispered, “I just want to ask—not to interfere with your decisions or anything. Why don’t you choose to leave your master?”

Back when she had shown up at Cliff Mountain hugging a square table and two parrots, Qin He had listened to her rant madly about that cold and heartless master for several nights in a row. She had wanted to ask: it had reached this point, so why not leave the master? After all, that was the way to solve it once and for all.

She had considered that Shang Shan might have her own reasons, so she hadn’t asked. But now, she couldn’t help wanting to know the answer and added, “It’s not because of some personal grudge between her and me. I just want to remind you as a friend: as far as masters go, the Yao’e Immortal is not a good choice.”